Ukrainian drone manufacturer Vyriy, one of the largest in the country, has unveiled several new products at the Brave1 Defense Tech Valley 2025 exhibition in Lviv, including a drone carrier for FPV drones and a budget reconnaissance unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) of the wing type.
Source: Oboronka, a project of Mezha Media, a defence technology and IT news platform within Ukrainska Pravda
Details: The first model, named Veresen (“September” in Ukrainian), has been dubbed the “drone-father” by the company.
Quote: “This name sounds more solid than drone-mother (drone carrier). And besides, what mother would let her children go? With a father, it can be different.”
The UAV performs three functions. As a kamikaze drone, it can carry 4 kg of explosives up to 75 km. As a drone carrier, it transports 2 FPV drones and acts as their signal relay. As a reconnaissance vehicle, it operates for up to 180 minutes with a range of 50 km.
Drone carrier Veresen**Photo: Vyriy company
More details: The second model, a cost-effective reconnaissance UAV named Sokil (“Falcon” in Ukrainian), launches by hand, can be assembled in 20 minutes, operates at an altitude of up to 2,500 metres and has a maximum flight range of 170 km.
Vyriy explained that Ukraine still lacks a cheap reconnaissance UAV. Reconnaissance using wing-type UAVs is one of the best and most effective ways to identify and track targets. This type of drone maintains long flight times, sees far and is quiet and less visible than a copter.
The company has also pointed out that many of these aircraft are needed, and yet, no company supplies them in adequate quantities. Today most producers focus on expensive systems designed to operate more than 50 km from the frontline. But due to the shortage of cheap reconnaissance aircraft, these UAVs are still used in close combat zones.
Both Veresen and Sokil will be equipped with systems to counter Russian FPV interceptors, which are increasingly shooting down Ukrainian drones.
Vyriy experts explained that the counter-system will be similar to what Russia has begun installing on its new drones – scanning radio frequencies and making automatic decisions. It is simple, does not significantly raise costs, but greatly improves survivability and, most importantly, operates autonomously. The operator only receives information that the evasion process has started and must pause the mission for a while.
The cost of each drone will range from US$3,500 to US$5,000. The two projects have been developed by separate teams, but Vyriy has invested hundreds of thousands of dollars in their development and assembly. Under the agreement, Vyriy will hold a 51% stake in the manufacturing companies.
The firm has also applied the same approach to scale up production of its kamikaze drone Blyskavka (“Lightning” in Ukrainian), a replica of Russia’s Molniya drone, as well as to develop its first MLRS project Dzhankoi.
Kamikaze drone Blyskavka**Photo: Vyriy company
Background: Earlier, the Ukrainian company DeViro showed at the Defense Tech Valley 2025 an upgraded Bulava drone, capable of striking targets at a distance of 100 km.
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